Kenney gets another shot

Casey Kenney is still a contender.

The 2009 Jay County High School graduate fought in Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series six weeks ago. He won, but did not receive a contract.

On Tuesday, he’ll get a second chance.

Kenney, the Tachi Palace Fights flyweight champion, will return to the Contender Series to fight Adam Antolin, the man who held that same title before him.

Antolin was originally slated to take on another fighter Tuesday. But when that fell through and Kenney was invited back, he was eager to take the opportunity.

“They must have liked what I did last time,” said Kenney. “It was a no-brainer for me. ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’”

The format of the series — it will be broadcast live of UFC Fight Pass, which is offering a seven-day free trial — remains the same as it was during Kenney’s previous fight on July 18. There will be five bouts featuring up-and-coming MMA competitors at The Ultimate Fighter Gym in Las Vegas. At the conclusion of the evening, White, the Ultimate Fighting Championship president, will offer contracts to any fighter he deems worthy.

In the first seven weeks of the series, White has given out 13 contracts. The only night he didn’t give two was July 18, when the lone offer went to “Suga” Sean O’Malley.

Kenney’s hope is that against Antolin he can prove that White made a mistake by passing him over six weeks ago.

“Honestly, if I do the same exact thing as I did last time, I’m going to walk away with a contract,” he said. “However, I always want to be better, so I’m looking for a finish and want to leave no doubt in all those guys’ minds that I belong in the UFC.”

Antolin (12-3) preceded Kenney atop the Tachi Palace Fights flyweight devision. He defeated Alex Perez for the title late in 2015 before departing to be a part of “The Ultimate Fighter” on FOX. He has had just one official fight since then, defeating Irfan Kahn on March 24.

The 35-year-old from San Jose, California, has won nine eight straight fights, with his last defeat coming by submission to Ronald Carillo in April 2011. Nine of his 12 professional wins have come via submission.

“He’s a high-paced striker,” said Kenney, who claimed the vacant title in February when he defeated Alvin Cacdac with a first-round submission. “He’s got some tricky submissions. … He’s going to come out and try to look to wear me down, try to push the pace a little bit.”

Kenney took control midway through the second round of his first Contender Series fight against C.J. Hamilton. He got in position for a rear naked choke, but couldn’t quite lock it in. He took Hamilton to the mat again in the third period and earned the win by unanimous decision — 30-27 on all three judges’ scorecards.

That left him to wait with the other winning fighters at the end of the night to hear The UFC president’s decision. White called O’Malley’s name.

“It was intense,” said Kenney, who is undefeated as a professional at 7-0-1. “When they called the names, I was like, ‘You’re not calling any more?!’ But I understand now that I’ve watched basically every episode of this season where they’re coming from. They’re bringing a lot of guys back that they like, unless you kind of steal the show like Sean O’Malley did that night.”

Now he hopes to follow in the footsteps of Joby Sanchez.

During the first week of the Contender Series, Sanchez, also a flyweight, went the distance with Manny Vazquez. He won by unanimous decision, earning a 29-27 nod on all three scorecards. But he did not get a contract.

He was invited back to fight again last week, defeating JP Buys by technical knockout in the second round. The win earned him one of two contracts given by White that night.

“I can already picture it,” said Kenney. “That’s what’s going to happen on Tuesday …

“The main goal is to go out and get the win. I think if I secure that, my name will be called.”